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Why do earthquakes start? What makes them get big? Why do they stop?
I am trying to answer these questions by studying earthquake triggering, hydrogeology, fault zone structure and friction.
These studies require using tools from a variety of geoscience disciplines including seismology, hydrogeology, structural geology, and rock mechanics. My group also utilizes tools from non-geoscience fields such as experimental rheology, statistics, and materials science.

The exploration of the mechanics underlying earthquakes has led into studies of other geophysical processs that involve some combination of friction, failure and fluid flow. This work includes studies on permeability that changes over time, the preparatory processes of volcanic eruptions, slow slip on ice streams, granular flow of beach sand and bedload transport in rivers.